Boston Globe Survey Finds 12 MLB Clubhouses Serve Alcohol To Players

Alcohol in MLB clubhouses is “being phased out of the game,” as only 12 of the 30 teams in baseball are “still providing beer to their players,” according to a survey cited by Peter Abraham of the BOSTON GLOBE. Three of those 12 teams “limit access to beer and closely monitor the players.” For many teams, the “decades-old practice of allowing beer ended” in ‘07 when Cardinals P Josh Hancock was “killed in an alcohol-related traffic accident.” Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino on Thursday said that the team “examined its policies at that time and elected not to change them.” Lucchino added that “the current alcohol policy was in place before John Henry purchased the team before the 2002 season.” Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona earlier this month said that he “supported that policy.” Francona: “We’ve actually always allowed beer in the clubhouse because I thought they were men and I thought they deserved to be treated like it. ... I thought our guys didn’t deserve to be treated like high school kids” (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/21). In Boston, Nick Cafardo notes MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was “concerned about the report of the Red Sox drinking in the clubhouse.” Selig on SiriusXM radio Thursday said, “I’m very concerned about our image. I do believe our players are role models. So when stories like that emerge you must understand I’m not very happy. I’m going to wait until all this other stuff is done and it’ll be up to the general manager and the new manager to solve that immediately” (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/21).